"There must be a mistake," Alan protested, overcoming his initial surprise at Rachel's announcement. "I mean, I may not like Gisborne, but he wouldn't have gone out of his way to try and murder King Arthur!"

"Have you forgotten that Guy started out as a villain?" Merlin reminded Alan. "It's not entirely insane. There's also the possibility that he's the one behind Will's mysterious injury."

"That's impossible," Alan argued. "He didn't go near Will last night! He couldn't have wounded him."

"Well, that doesn't change the fact that Guinevere saw Guy attack Arthur," Merlin said stubbornly. "I would've thought you would have been the one arguing against Guy's good-nature."

"Like I said, we've been enemies, but he changed when he met her," Alan said, indicating Rachel. "I know what love can do. Its power is amazing. It changed Gisborne, and he's no longer the man he used to be. I simply can't believe he was the one who attacked Arthur!"

"Believe it," Rachel said sharply. "I saw it through her eyes. Guy attacked them. There's no doubt about that. What I want to know is why. Why did Guy attack them? Was there a reason? He didn't speak, and I only got one look at his face."

"Well, how do we find out why he did it?" Alan asked. "He's not here anymore, so what do we do to find out where he is and why he did it?"

Rachel met his eyes. "The Editor," she whispered.

"Wait, how did we get back to the Editor?" Alan inquired. "I thought we were talking about Guy."

"Here's a hypothetical scenario," Rachel said, thinking hard. "Guy is kidnapped from Nottingham last night, and Will is injured as the decoy to prevent you from looking for him before he's out of that Story. The Editor threatens Guy, and forces Guy to attack King Arthur and Guinevere—probably to show me the extent of the Editor's power."

"And how could Guy be forced?" Merlin put in, frowning.

"The Editor has the same power as me and Will, presumably," Rachel answered. "The power to write someone out. If the Editor threatened to use that power on Guy, or even me..."

"Guy would do whatever this Editor wants him to do," Alan finished. "A fine theory, but how can we prove it? If the Editor can write you out, why haven't they? I mean, sure they can use you to blackmail Gisborne, but what's the point? If this whole thing was a setup to show how powerful the Editor is, why haven't they written you out yet?"

Rachel blinked, and Merlin stared at Alan. The bard scratched his head when he saw the peculiar looks they were giving him. "What?"

"That's the question, isn't it?" Merlin mused. "You've actually come up with an interesting problem. If the Editor is so powerful, why not remove Rachel immediately? The whole point of using Guy, if her theory is correct, is to show Rachel the Editor's power. Yet, if the Editor is threatening to write Rachel out, why haven't they done so?"

"Maybe they actually can't," Guinevere said. She had woken up without anybody noticing. "Maybe they're bluffing."

"Trying to make themselves seem more powerful," Merlin agreed. "But I think they would've been a bit more unobtrusive. I mean, a mere bard figured out their ploy. That doesn't say much for the Editor's intelligence."

"Let's not underestimate them just yet," Rachel warned. "We could be totally off the mark here. There's still the possibility that—that Guy is doing this freely. And I want to find out the truth, not make up conspiracy theories." She stood up and went to the door.

Merlin was alarmed by the sudden movement. "Whoa! Where are you going?" he exclaimed.

"I'll scour the whole Story if I have to," Rachel replied. "I'm going to find out the truth. And stop this Editor before they hurt anybody else."

"Umm, how exactly are we going to do that?" Alan asked. "There's three of us, and we don't even know what the Editor can do."

"Four," Guinevere said.

"Excuse me?" Rachel responded, staring at her. "Who invited you?" She was not feeling very well-disposed towards either Merlin or Gwen. She didn't approve of what they were trying to hide.

"This is my home," Gwen said stubbornly. "I'm not going to sit by and let this Editor person destroy it!"

"You two are going to destroy your happiness yourselves," Rachel warned them angrily. "You should know better! Lancelot's romance with you never ended well; what makes you think falling for Merlin is going to help anything? How do you think Arthur will react when he finds out you two are in love?"

Gwen and Merlin exchanged guilty looks. Alan, however, was delighted. "You're in love!" he hooted, laughing. "I didn't think it was possible that someone who looks down his nose at the fine art of music could fall in love. I'm going to compose a song about you two!"

"No!" Rachel, Merlin, and Guinevere said quickly. They may as well have let all the air out of the bard, he deflated so quickly.

"'No'?" he said. "What's wrong with that?"

"I'd remind you that Arthur tried to have Will put to death for murders he couldn't possibly have committed," Rachel said.

"He reacts purely on an emotional level," Merlin agreed. "If he finds out about this..."

"He'll kill you both," Rachel finished. "You need to end this before anyone gets hurt. I can't let you come with us, Gwen. I'm sorry."

Guinevere shook her head, her curls bouncing around. "I'm coming," she insisted. "I can use a sword, a little. This isn't about Merlin or Arthur. This is about stopping the person who tried to have my husband killed."

"Like you care about him!" Rachel snorted.

Gwen stared at her coolly. "I do care about Arthur," she said flatly. "I may not love him, but he's the king, and if he dies, our Story ends. To protect him, I have to go with you."

Rachel sighed. "Fine. But if either of you try and kiss or anything, I can't promise your safety," she warned.

Alan grinned. "This is going to be so much inspiration for my song!" he exclaimed.

Merlin swatted the back of his head. It wasn't a hard hit, but Alan exaggerated the movement and fell on the floor. "No song," Merlin said. "You try and write a song about us and I'll cut off your fingers and break your lute."

"Brutal," Alan commented, looking thoroughly unconcerned. "Where are we going to start, Lady Rachel?"

Rachel opened a Story door. "Wherever The Story takes us," she answered.